Anxiety has gripped the FirstBank group and the industry following resignation of Adesola Adeduntan as the managing director of the group about eight months to expiration of his tenure, and after nine years at the helm of affairs.
According to his resignation letter, Adeduntan said he was stepping down effective Saturday, April 20
He was due to retire by December, when his tenure must have been fully completed.
FirstBank is the flagship subsidiary of FBN Holdings which abruptly announced the cancellation of an extraordinary general meeting on Saturday morning after Adeduntan resigned.
The meeting had been earlier “scheduled to be held virtually on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, at 10 am for the consideration and authorisation of the company to undertake a capital raise of up to N300,000,000,000,” FBN Holdings said in its notification to the Nigerian Exchange.
Incidentally, his resignation is coming just as Femi Otedola stepped in as the chairman of FBN Holdings, the parent company of the bank.
Otedola, the Chairman of Geregu Power Plc, acquired substantial stake in First Bank in August last year to become the new Chairman of FBN Holdings in January 2024. He succeeded Ahmad Abdullahi.
Adeduntan’s resignation letter reads: “As you are aware, my contract would be expiring on 31 December, 2024, after which I would no longer be eligible for employment within the bank having served as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of FirstBank for a record time of nine years.
“During this period the bank and its subsidiaries has undergone significant changes and broken new grounds. We have repositioned the institution as an enviable financial giant in Africa. I have however decided to proceed on retirement with effect from 20 April, 2024, to pursue other interests.
“I am eternally grateful to the board of directors of FirstBank and FBN Holdings Plc for the support that I received from them during my stewardship. I wish our iconic institution continue success and progress as we move into the next phase of its evolution. Warm regards.”
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Adeduntan joined FirstBank in 2014, first as a chief financial officer and as an executive director.
The bank chief, who was retired in 2021 by the then board of the financial institution headed by Ibukun Awosika, was reinstated a few days after by the Central Bank of Nigeria and the board sacked.
Industry watchers said the resignation, coming at this critical period in the bank and industry leaves much to be desired of an industry leader.
Sources close to the bank told Metro businessnews.com (MBN) on Saturday that more information is expected from the bank to douse the tension generated by the sudden incident.